Scientists in Mexico have just begun a new study of one of the world’s biggest pyramids: the Pyramid of the Sun, north of Mexico City. They’re putting lots of small, high-tech machines under the pyramid to try to unlock some of its secrets. For thousands of years, people have tried to uncover the secrets of the pyramids.

The people who built the pyramids made lots of secret doors and rooms to stop robbers from finding the treasures inside. However, there always have been some smart thieves in history. Now, almost all of Egypt’s pyramids have been robbed, including the Great Pyramid of Khufu, which is the largest pyramid in the world. It is the only one of the ancient wonders of the world that is still standing.

In AD 820, an Arab king named Abdullah AL Manum got a group of workers to dig their way into the Great Pyramid and have a look. Inside the pyramid, they found three rooms --- the Queen’s Chamber, the Grand Gallery and the King’s Chamber. But to their surprise, the men didn’t find the treasures they wanted. The Queen’s and King’s Chambers were both empty! Where were the King’s mummy and his treasures? Had someone already taken them away? The huge stone doors at the pyramid’s entrance were still closed when AL Manum’s men went inside. How had the thieves got in and out?

Since then, many people have gone inside the Great Pyramid to have a look or to try to take things. But still, no other chambers or walkways have been found.

In 2002, an American team made the most recent visit to the Great Pyramid. Scientists sent a robot into the pyramid, but they only found a mysterious locked stone door.

1.The first two paragraphs were written to show that ________.

A．the Pyramid of the Sun is an unusual historic building

B．ancient Egyptian emperors were cruel

C．construction workers led a hard life in ancient Egypt

D．the secrets of the pyramids remain to be uncovered

2.What is the purpose of making some secret doors to the pyramids?

A．To try to unlock some of its secrets.

B．To stop robbers from finding the treasures inside.

C．To refuse some visitors all over the world into it.

D．To tell the truth to the people in the future.

3.Which of the following is NOT true to the Great Pyramid of Khufu?

A．It is the largest pyramid in the world.

B．It is the only one of the ancient wonders that is still standing.

C．Abdullah AL Manum took the King’s mummy and his treasures away.

D．Scientists found a mysterious locked stone door to the Great Pyramid.

4.What would be the best title for the text?

A．The Pyramid of the Sun

B．The Great Pyramid of Khufu

C．A Mysterious Locked Stone Door

D．Unlocking the Doors of History

 

They say money doesn’t grow on trees. But it certainly appears to do so on the mysterious coin-studded(嵌满) trunks dotted around the UK’s woodland. The strange phenomenon of old trees with coins fixed firmly all over their bark has been spotted on trails from the Peak District to the Scottish Highlands. The coins are usually knocked into felled (砍伐的) tree trunks using stones by passers-by, who hope it will bring them good fortune.

These fascinating spectacles often have coins from centuries ago buried deep in their bark and warped by the passage of time. The tradition of making offerings to gods at wishing trees dates back hundreds of years, but this combination of the man-made and the natural is far more rare. It used to be believed that god’s spirits lived in trees, and they were often decorated with sweets and gifts — as is still done today at Christmas. The act is like tossing money into ponds for good luck, or the trend for couples to attach “love padlocks” to bridges and fences to symbolize lasting romance. Some pubs, such as the Punch Bowl in Askham, Cumbria, have old timbers with splits in them into which coins are forced for luck. There are seven felled tree trunks with coins pushed into them in the picturesque village of Portmeirion, in Wales.

Meurig Jones, an estate manager at the tourist destination, told the BBC, “We had no idea why it was being done when we first noticed the tree trunk was being filled with coins. I did some detective work and discovered that trees were sometimes used as ‘wishing trees’. In Britain it dates back to the 1700s — there is one tree somewhere in Scotland which apparently has an old coin stuck into it. ” He said that a sick person could press a coin into a tree and their illness would go away. If someone then takes the coin out though, it’s said they then become ill. We haven’t made it known at all, it’s just happened,” he added. “It’s quite amazing really.” In Scotland, there is also a legend about a kissing tree. If a young man could drive a nail into a tree with one blow, he earned a kiss from his sweetheart.

1.What was the real reason why in UK people knocked coins into the old trees?

A．It was hoped that it would bring them good future and make the trees more beautiful.

B．Nobody knew why there was such a strange custom that it could make them lucky.

C．It might come from the tradition of making offerings to gods hundreds of years ago.

D．It was said that god’s spirits lived in trees and doing so could please the gods of the trees.

2.The underlined part in Paragraph 2 may mean ____________.

A．this combination of the man-made and the natural is far from realistic.

B．the mysterious phenomenon of old trees with coins is rarely seen in the world.

C．people wanted to make the works of art with the help from the forces of nature.

D．the appearance of trees would be nicer than their original.

3.The passage mainly tells us that________.

A．some people attached “love padlocks” to bridges and fences to symbolize lasting romance

B．a particular way in which people made good wishes is still popular in the UK

C．visitors tossed money into ponds for good luck just as they knocked coins into the trees

D．a long history of a strange phenomenon of old trees with coins in the UK

4.Which of the following can be used as the best title for the passage?

A．Who Says Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees?

B．Do Trees with Some Coins Become Valuable?

C．Is It Really Amazing to Have Coins Fixed into Trees?

D．What Is the Purpose of Knocking Coins into Trees?

 

A. Attention must be paid to environmental factors.

B. Principles of curing cancers.

C. It will take long to find perfect cures.

D. An important discovery in the research.

E. The causative factor of cancer is very clear.

F. The survival rate differs among patients with various cancers.

1.___________

“I have great confidence that by the end of the decade we’ll know in vast detail how cancer cells arise,” says microbiologist Robert Weinberg, an expert on cancer. “But,” he cautions, “some people have the idea that once one understands the causes, the cure will rapidly follow. Consider Pasteur. He discovered the causes of many kinds of infections, but it was fifty or sixty years before cures were available. ”

2.____________

This year, 50 percent of the 910,000 people who suffer from cancer will survive at least five years. In the year 2020, the National Cancer Institute estimates, that figure will be 75 percent. For some skin cancers, the five-year survival rate is as high as 90 percent. But other survival statistics are still discouraging—13 percent for lung cancer, and 2 percent for cancer of the pancreas (胰腺) .

3.___________

With as many as 120 varieties in existence, discovering how cancer works is not easy. The researchers made great progress in the early 1970s, when they discovered that oncogenes, which are cancer-causing genes, are inactive in normal cells. Anything from universe rays to radiation to diet may activate an inactive gene, but how remains unknown. If several oncogenes are driven into action, the cell, unable to turn them off, becomes cancerous.

4.____________

The exact process involved is still mysterious, but the likelihood that many cancers are initiated at the level of genes suggests that we will never prevent all cancers. “Changes are a normal part of the evolutionary process,” says oncologist William Hayward. Environmental factors can never be totally eliminated; as Hayward points out, “We can’t prepare a medicine against universe rays.”

5.____________

The prospects for cure, though still distant, are brighter. “First, we need to understand how the normal cell controls itself. Second, we have to determine whether there are a limited number of genes in cells, which are always responsible for at least part of the trouble. If we can understand how cancer works, we can reduce its action. ”

 

The house was quiet at 5 am and Tim’s mother was asleep. Only the sound of the big freezer broke the quiet. He’d dreamt of the cave last night. The purring（轻微颤动声）of the freezer had been the sea.                                         

Tim pulled on a sweater and put some apples into his schoolbag. It was too early for breakfast. He’d eat after he’d been through the cave, sitting on the rocks and staring at the sea.

He wished he had a proper pack. His schoolbag would have to do. What else? Sandwiches—but his mother might wake up if he started pulling out bread for sandwiches. She’d want to know why he had to leave so early. He settled for some biscuits, and left a note stuck to the table:

Gone to Michael’s. Back tonight, Tim.

The sky was high and soft and light outside, though the sun still wasn’t up. Even the highway up the hill was quiet as he made his way down the street. The wind from the sea was fresh and sweet.

The sand hills still breathed heat from yesterday’s sun, though the top of the sand was cool. He ran down to the beach impatiently, but there was no one, just dry sand dancing in the early wind and seabirds marching up and down watching the waves.

The light changed suddenly. The first rays of sunlight stretched (延伸) across the sea. The sun was pushing its way over the edge of the world.

Over the first rocks, along to the point, Tim glanced back. The beach was still empty. The sun sailed higher in the sky.

He could see the cave now, even darker in the morning light. The sand turned silver then dark gold as the water flowed away from it. He had to force himself to go closer. Why was it so much more mysterious now? But it would be silly to go back now after so much trouble. He needn’t go in all the way...

1.What did Tim do at the beginning of the story?

A．He left the house quietly.                 B．He had breakfast at home.

C．He left a note on the freezer.              D．He put a sweater in his schoolbag.

2.“He settled for some biscuits” means that Tim_______.

A．had to leave the biscuits on the table

B．liked biscuits better than sandwiches

C．had to take biscuits instead of sandwiches

D．could only find some biscuits in the kitchen

3.What made it possible for Tim to see the entry to the cave?

A．The height of the first rocks.               B．The ups and downs of the waves.

C．The change in the position of the sun.        D．The vast stretch of the sunlit beach.

4.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the story?

A．The sea looked like a piece of gold.

B．Seabirds flew away when Tim arrived.

C．Tim was the only person on the beach.

D．The sky got dark as Tim reached the cave.

5.In the story, Tim’s mood changed from_______.

A．loneliness to craziness                   B．anxiousness to excitement

C．helplessness to happiness                 D．eagerness to nervousness

 

Before India gained independence (独立), a few young men from the villages wanted to free India from the foreign rule; they wanted the British to quit India. They needed material wealth to  36  the British out of India, so they started collecting  37  in the Indian villages.

One day, they got encouraged to collect  38  things as well. They went from door to door carrying a huge bag, which gradually was  39  with money and gifts. As they went, a one-legged beggar kept  40  them. The young men did not mind.

At the  41  of the day, they entered a house to see  42  they had collected. The beggar also wanted to enter, but since he was not a member of the group, they did not  43  him in. The beggar said to them: “I walked such a  44  distance right behind you. You want freedom; I also want freedom. India is not only your motherland. It is also my motherland.”

 45 , the young men got mad and told the beggar to go away. Then one of the men felt  46  for him, so they decided to  47  him the things they had collected.  48  the beggar was looking at the gifts in their bag, most of them were showing no  49  for him. Then suddenly the beggar opened up the bag that he had been carrying. It  50  a few coins and some rice. He threw all the contents into their bag at once.

At the  51  of this, immediately all the members of the revolutionary group started dropping  52  of gratitude (感激), because he had  53  all that he had to their cause. On that day, they had gone to visit so many rich families, who had given them next to  54 ; but this beggar had given them everything that he had! They were deeply  55  by the beggar’s contribution.

1.                A．drive          B．grow           C．help D．pick

 

2.                A．food           B．money         C．papers   D．seeds

 

3.                A．military         B．material        C．mysterious    D．cultural

 

4.                A．tired           B．satisfied        C．filled D．covered

 

5.                A．following       B．cheating        C．calling    D．beating

 

6.                A．beginning       B．end            C．front D．middle

 

7.                A．how           B．what           C．where    D．when

 

8.                A．stop           B．drop           C．allow D．promise

 

9.                A．short          B．near           C．long D．little

 

10.               A．At last          B．At first         C．At a time  D．In that case

 

11.               A．necessary       B．patient         C．thankful   D．sorry

 

12.               A．trouble         B．serve          C．show D．excite

 

13.               A．Since          B．While          C．If D．Although

 

14.               A．interest        B．courage        C．respect   D．disappointment

 

15.               A．included        B．consisted       C．held  D．contained

 

16.               A．thought        B．sight           C．sound D．moment

 

17.               A．laughter        B．difference      C．truth D．tears

 

18.               A．taken          B．given          C．wasted    D．lost

 

19.               A．something      B．nothing         C．everything D．anything

 

20.               A．moved         B．removed       C．excited    D．surprised